This is a little fall vignette in the kitchen. It sits on top of our marble-top washstand, which belonged to Grandmother and Granddad. I always keep the little lamp there, but switch the decorations for the seasons and holidays.
I have had the glass pumpkin jar for years and just put a scrap of orange metallic mesh inside it for this display.
See the pretty shells at the base of this candle? My sister-in-law and brother-in-law just brought these to me from Kennebunkport. I love them! In the shop, they were used as candle rings, but it occurred to them that I could also use them as napkin rings. Perfect!
This is a piece of family history. Made of pewter, it also belonged to Grandmother and Granddad and was used during Aunt Kay's and Dad's childhood. Aunt Kay said she always understood that it was intended for warm maple syrup.
A week and a half ago, we went on a getaway for a few days. We loved poking around Ste. Genevieve, Missouri's oldest town. The original village was established in the 1700s on the western bank of the Mississippi River. It is a charming and historic spot in the southern part of the state. Being huge fans of historical "field trips", we loved learning new things and seeing the French Colonial architecture there. We enjoyed museums, lovely old historic homes, shops and churches. It was a quiet time there, so we benefitted from tours with very few people (we were the only ones on some). The guides/docents dressed in period clothing and provided a wealth of information. These are our "passports" that we purchased to tour some of the homes and we were happy to be able to go through all of them. I got the little golden flour delis for our Christmas tree. Now let me explain what this has to do with today's vignette (teachers feel compelled to build background knowledge!). One of the places we visited in Ste. Genevieve was a pewter shop. The husband and wife artisans were fascinating and the four of us spent quite some time chatting about pewter. During our conversation, I mentioned that I had this pewter pitcher at home, but I knew it wasn't food-safe due to its age. They taught me that good pewter pieces were stamped and that, generally speaking, anything with a stamp is considered safe to use for food. I was surprised! England's pewter has been regulated for hundreds of years by the same food-safe guidelines adopted by the United States in the 20th century. I guess we were a little behind there! Interesting! When I came home, I took out my pitcher from its spot in the display cabinet and flipped it over. It was stamped. Long story short, I called the shop after we were home and learned that our family piece was made around 1930. Learning all about pewter and pulling out the family syrup pitcher is what precipitated my including it in this display. Now, isn't that more than you cared to know?!
